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Together in one package at nice price! 3-CD set includes classic original 1963 United Artists re-recorded album prepared by Elmer Bernstein when film was new, plus two-disc presentation of actual soundtrack. John Sturges directs legendary WWII POW classic with Steve McQueen leading cast, solidifying status as iconic loner character on screen. James Garner, Richard Attenborough, Charles Bronson, James Coburn amongst fellow POWs. Motorcycle sequence with McQueen outriding pursuers is an action cinema landmark - Bernstein's music throughout sequence is unparalled display of rhythmic orchestral energy! Intrada presents soundtrack from same 1/4" two-track stereo session elements as earlier Varese Sarabande limited release but newly re-masters them to remove annoying tape print-through that plagued loud sections of earlier version. 1963 UA album mastered from original 1/2" three-channel stereo masters. Informative notes from Nick Redman illuminate impact of McQueen on film & audience plus offer details about real escape incident film is based on. A genuine film and score classic back in print for new generations. Elmer Bernstein conducts both recordings.

Although this legendary film score has been
available in some form from its LP origin in 1963 right on through the present day, this
is the first presentation of both the original re-recorded album released by the United
Artists label when the film opened and the actual soundtrack recorded for the picture in
a single package. Both versions are valuable listening experiences and certainly compliment
each other.

The original 1963 LP was for more than forty years the lone presentation of the
score. Some 33 minutes of highlights were included that touched on almost every major
set-piece in the movie, if just briefly in many cases.
In fact, its first release on CD was through Intrada
during the early days of the CD format. The more
recent discovery of tapes for the complete score
as recorded for the soundtrack resulted in a handsome
2-CD package from the Varese Sarabande
label. Now Intrada presents everything under one
roof, so to speak, in a specially-priced 3-CD set
for those who may have missed out on one or both
of the earlier releases.

The first two CDs offer the actual soundtrack
in stereo, mastered from the same ¼” 7 ½ ips
two-track tape sources used for the Varese
Sarabande release – but restored and re-mastered to address the annoying tape printthrough
that plagued certain tracks of that release, such as the accented fortissimo hits
in brass during the opening bars of the “Main Title” and other similar loud passages that
are followed immediately by quiet ones. While the reasonably dynamic audio quality
remains similar, the print-through is now happily absent. The stereo mix, made back
in 1963, remains vivid but listeners should note the perceived heavier weight of the
17
right channel is due the extreme positioning
of all the brass plus the low strings (cellos
and basses) on the right. Those instruments
play with vitality and are very active throughout
the score. The left channel is restricted
to violins, violas and some woodwinds (which
also appear in the center with percussion),
all which are much less active than the brass
and lower strings. In other words, the stereo
mix is accurate and genuine but will often feel
weighted to the right due to the composition
of the music and the original engineering of
the instrumental familes.

A final word about this 2-CD soundtrack presentation: the second half of the film
has more music than the first half. The previous release chose to make each CD roughly
equal in length but we have elected to retain the integrity of the musical balance of
the film thus dedicating one CD to each act of the film. This allows the first CD to end
with the music naturally as it does in the first act of the film, but does result in the first
CD being shorter in length than the second. As such the second CD contains most of
the action music of the film, just as the second half of the film did.

The LP re-recording from 1963 is presented here as CD 3, mastered from the ½”
15 ips three-track stereo album masters vaulted courtesy of MGM. These were preserved
in mint condition and remain amongst the most dynamic and well-engineered
album masters of the era.

So now sit back, stretch your legs within the confines of your own audio compound,
and enjoy a double dose of one of the all-time great film score classics with Elmer Bernstein
as your commanding officer.

—Douglass Fake

Composed and Conducted by Elmer Bernstein.

Recorded on January 14, 15, 28, 29 and February 11, 1963, at Samuel Goldwyn Studios, Culver City, California.